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Tuesday

My engagement ring sagas

Want to know a fun fact? I've had five engagement rings. Yep, five. All by the time I was 21 too! That's more than my mum, and she's been engaged three times!Now, before you start thinking I'm like that girl on the current cycle of ANTM who was married and divorced by 18 and never.shuts.up.about.it, all of the engagement rings came from Rich. And he's not just proposing to me over and over again, forgetting that he's already done it (although his memory is so bad that I wouldn't put it past him!). I've just had a lot of bad luck with engagement rings!

Ring number 1I chose this ring within six weeks of meeting Rich. Our relationship moved very fast- Within the first two months, he'd basically proposed and I'd moved in with him (and his mum!). We decided to wait until we'd been together a year before we officially became engaged, and he proposed for real on our one-year anniversary.It was a nightmare from start to finish. He told me he'd have proposed before we went to see Oliver! in the West End. When I woke up that morning, he hadn't done it so it was pretty obvious it was going to be that day. Even though I knew he was going to propose at some point, I wanted the exact details to be a secret. Then, whilst waiting for the train to London, he realised he'd left the tickets at home. He had to go back home to get them, so it was a lot later than we intended when we got to London.Finally we arrived and went to Camden Nando's for dinner. It was closed for refurbishment, so we went to the hotel restaurant instead. Then we discovered that we had no money left. The faffing about trying to find somewhere to eat meant we were late to the theatre and sat down just as the curtain lifted so I was flustered throughout the whole show. Plus, I'd only just started wearing contacts and they were really uncomfortable the whole evening.Rich tried to get down on one knee right there in the theatre during the interval but I was having none of it! I didn't want everybody looking at me! After the show, we went for a walk along the Thames. My feet were hurting from my shoes, the whole day had gone wrong in every possible way and Rich hadn't found a time to propose. I was so tired and emotional that I burst out crying! He cuddled me, pulled out the ring and proposed to me without any of the getting-down-on-one-knee-saying-the-full-name thing. In a way it was nice. There was a busker further down embankment playing an acoustic guitar as she sang, we were right next to the London Eye all lit up in the night and it was fairly quiet as it was late. Everything turned out ok in the end.Then we got back to the hotel and put the TV on. Lying on the bed, I rolled over to hug Rich and felt a little pop. I looked down and the ring had broken. The pearl had fallen right out of the setting. I cried for hours. Ring number 2

Rich tried to get a replacement but Ernest Jones said it would take a few months. In the meantime, he went to Argos for a temporary replacement and bought the only ring that was available for my tiny, size H finger. It was hideous. A massive fake rock thing. He says it was a joke but I'm not so sure...Ring number 3After laughing in his face about the Argos ring (which I still hope was a joke), we went on a venture to find a new temporary replacement. We visited Beaverbrooks in Reading and I still remember that the lady who helped us was called Sylvia! I was still so upset about my engagement ring breaking but she was so nice and helpful. I settled on this white gold cubic zirconia which I still love!Ring number 4By my 21st birthday, we had given up on the Ernest Jones ring. They were horrible with their customer service and we decided to look in the local antique jewellers instead. I chose the ring I wanted and Rich went back to buy it before my birthday. Unfortunately, it had sold out but he bought a different one instead. It was a gorgeous Victorian ring but it was just too chunky for my tiny finger so it had to go back.Ring number 5I went back to the shop with Rich to exchange it for one that was more suited to me. Guess what? The one I wanted was still there. Being Rich, he'd completely overlooked it when he went to buy it! Finally, I had the perfect engagement ring and it's been stuck on my finger for the past 4 years.It's a gold Edwardian ring with two teeny-tiny diamonds flanking a sapphire. It's nothing big and flashy but it's perfect for me. Very small and in proportion with my hands. It wasn't expensive either, so don't come and mug me! Rich was a little worried about not spending a huge amount on it but I didn't want any other ring. It's beautiful to me and I have never regretted it.All the fuss was worth it in the end. Of course, it's nice to have a pretty ring but let's not forget the best part of all this- I get to marry this macho hunk of a man!Lucky me, right?

It's a shame about the pearl ring but your current one is my favourite- I can't believe the there is an adult with smaller fingers than my sister- she was originally an I but after 6 months decided it felt too big and had it sized half a size down. I really want to hold your little hand :)

Ring number five is gorgeous - so unusual. I do love ring number one, but I'm totally biased as it's very similar to my engagement ring - the jewellers told me to watch out for the pearl popping out but we've got a guarantee on it :)

I guess the most important thing about this whole post is NANDO'S WAS CLOSED!? I don't know how you managed to continue with your day when the nando's was closed! Rich should have just given up there and then and done it another day!

I can't believe you had 5 engagement rings! I can't imagine you being able to find 5 rings that fit your cute little hands!xx

Hahaha Becky I love your style of writing you always make me chuckle! The engagement ring you ended up with is absolutely gorgeous, it's so much more important to have a ring that means something to you and is special and exactly what you wanted, rather than spending thousands just to have 'the biggest diamond' :)